A guide to sustainability priorities by event type

This guide was created as part of our How to deliver a sustainable event guidance.

It summarises the guidance by event type. 

Introduction

This guide applies to events of every kind, but not every decision carries the same weight in every context. Below we map common event types in the post-16 education sector against the guidance in this document, so organisers can see where their event sits and which decisions are likely to matter most for them. 

These profiles are a starting point, not a substitute for the fuller guidance elsewhere in this document or for the sustainable events checklist. The principle of proportionality applies here more than anywhere: use the “pros” to identify where your event type has a natural advantage, and the “watch out for” points to flag where extra attention is likely to be needed. 

At a glance 

Conferences 

Typically the sector's largest and most externally visible events, with delegates travelling from a wide geographic spread. Because of their scale, the format decision (in person, virtual or hybrid) and delegate travel usually dominate the sustainability picture. 

Pros for sustainability 

• High visibility means sustainable choices are seen by a wide external audience, reinforcing institutional commitments. 

• Scale gives real purchasing power to negotiate sustainability commitments with venues, caterers and AV suppliers. 

• Longer lead times usually allow format and travel decisions to be properly tested rather than rushed. 

Watch out for 

• Long-distance delegate and speaker travel can dominate the footprint regardless of how well the event is run on the day. 

• Sponsorship and partnership arrangements need the same ethical scrutiny as any other institutional relationship. 

• Hybrid delivery added as an afterthought tends to produce a poor experience for remote delegates. 

More information

How to deliver a sustainable event:

• Choosing the event format
• Travel and location
• Suppliers, procurement and partnership
• Measuring impact

Sector gatherings 

Smaller, often regular peer or member events that may rotate between host institutions. Audiences are usually already engaged with sustainability, creating both higher expectations and more appetite to try new approaches. 

Pros for sustainability 

• A receptive peer audience makes this a good place to pilot ambitious practice, such as removing single-use items or a plant-based default menu. 

• A recurring format means lessons from one event can genuinely be carried into the next. 

• Familiarity within the community makes it easier to gather honest feedback. 

Watch out for 

• Familiarity can breed complacency - “we always do it this way”. 

• Rotating host institutions can lose consistency in standards unless expectations are shared explicitly each time. 

More information 

How to deliver a sustainable event:

• Governance and accountability
• Improving over time
• Sharing and reporting 

Research symposia 

Often linked to funded research or a specific bid, meaning key sustainability decisions, including format, travel and offsetting, may already be constrained by funder conditions agreed before the event was confirmed. 

Pros for sustainability 

• Funder concordats and conditions can be genuine allies in pushing for sustainable practice rather than obstacles to it. 

• Established frameworks, such as the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice, provide a ready-made rationale for sustainable choices. 

Watch out for 

• Format and location decisions are often locked in at the bid-writing stage, before sustainability has been considered - once missed, they are hard to revisit. 

• Funder offsetting or reporting requirements need to be checked before the event, not after. 

More information 

How to deliver a sustainable event

• Setting purpose and outcomes
• Offsetting 
• Funding requirement callout in Sharing and reporting  

Student summits 

Usually led or co-run by students, often on tighter budgets and with more informal delivery than staff-run events. These events sit naturally within the guide's “whole institution” and living-lab thinking. 

Pros for sustainability 

• Strong natural alignment with institutional sustainability and EDI priorities, and genuine ownership and skills development for students. 

• Often more flexible on format and venue than a large conference, making it easier to prioritise accessible, low-impact choices. 

Watch out for 

• Limited budget or experience can mean sustainability slips down the priority list under pressure - build it in as core from the outset, not as an optional extra. 

• Student organisers change over each year, so documenting decisions matters more here than in a permanent events team. 

More information

How to deliver a sustainable event 

• Taking a whole-institution approach
• “Where to start” five priority actions 

Graduation ceremonies 

A fixed date and venue, high one-off attendance including families and guests, and delivery usually led by a professional-services team rather than chosen by those attending. 

Pros for sustainability 

• A consistent, repeating format across years makes long-term investment in reusable materials and supplier relationships genuinely worthwhile. 

• A highly visible, values-expressing occasion where visible sustainable choices, such as gown reuse or rental schemes, send a strong signal to graduates and families. 

Watch out for 

• Guest travel, often by family and sometimes international, is largely outside your control and can dominate the footprint. 

• Gowns, programmes and photography packages are classic single-use and over-print risk areas. 
• Large numbers arriving in a short window put pressure on venue capacity, access and wayfinding. 

More information 

How to deliver a sustainable event

• Materials
• Waste and circularity
• Venues
• Accessibility
• Inclusion and wellbeing

Open days and exhibitions 

Recurring, prospective-student-facing events, often combining exhibition stands with campus tours, and attended by families and under-18s several times a year. 

Pros for sustainability 

• High repeat frequency makes reusable signage, modular stands and standard sustainable catering arrangements especially cost-effective over time. 

• A natural, visible showcase of institutional sustainability commitments to a prospective audience. 

Watch out for 

• Marketing pressure to refresh branding each cycle works against reuse - push back on event-specific dates or branding on stands and signage. 

• Heavy footfall from local, often car-based, travel is easy to overlook next to “big” conference travel, but adds up across a year of repeat events. 

See: ,  and temporary builds; ,  

More information 

How to deliver a sustainable event:

• Exhibitions
• Installations and temporary builds
• Materials
• Waste and circularity

Creative showcases, installations and end-of-year shows 

Involve significant physical materials and temporary builds, often created by students, sometimes to tight and irregular construction timelines driven by academic deadlines. 

Pros for sustainability 

• A visible platform to demonstrate circular design and material reuse directly to students and public audiences, and to embed sustainability into the curriculum or assessment itself. 

• Genuine scope for creative reuse of materials as part of the work itself. 

Watch out for 

• Temporary builds and installations create the most concentrated waste and disposal challenge of any event type - end-of-life planning needs to be agreed at the design stage, not after. 
• Tight, deadline-driven timelines leave little slack to arrange reuse or take-back routes unless planned early. 

More information 

How to deliver a sustainable event:

• Exhibitions
• Installations and temporary builds
• Materials
• Waste and circularity

Career fairs 

Bring together external exhibitors, typically employers, each with their own stand, materials and giveaways, usually in a fixed one-day, on-campus format with little flexibility on venue. 

Pros for sustainability 

• A single shared brief to exhibitors, covering packaging, giveaways and printed materials, can standardise sustainable practice across many organisations at once - multiplying the effect of one clear policy. 

• Attendance is often local and largely student, keeping the travel impact of attendees, comparatively low. 

Watch out for 

• Exhibitor giveaways and merchandise are a major, easily overlooked source of low-value, short-lived waste - set expectations with exhibitors early, not on the day. 
• Large numbers of individual exhibitor deliveries can create high packaging and logistics impact unless consolidated. 

More information 

How to deliver a sustainable event:

• Suppliers 
• Procurement and partnership (Ask your supplier - shipping and packaging)
• Materials
• Waste and circularity

Explore: How to deliver a sustainable event